Researchers at the University of Rochester developed a solar-powered desalination process that uses laser-treated black metal to absorb sunlight and move water across a highly wettable surface. The system separates the salts instead of sending concentrated brine back into the ocean, and the researchers say the salts may also be useful for recovering lithium.
Desalination can help communities facing drought and freshwater pressure, but its energy demands and waste streams have limited its usefulness. This laboratory approach is not ready to solve water scarcity on its own, yet it points toward a version of desalination that treats both the water and the leftover minerals as part of the problem.